The bodyweight routine to improve mobility and athleticism

Keep the iron on the rack and train using just your bodyweight to drop fat and build muscle.

by Brian Matthews, C.S.C.S.

June 26, 2017 3.22pm

Getty Images/wundervisuals

30

Minutes

7

Exercises

This summer, leave the battles for gym real estate to the meatheads. Some tunes, a little space, and this crop of bodyweight moves are all you'll need to build muscle and whip yourself into a sweat-covered mess.

How it works

What’s unique about this specific grouping of exercises are the added benefits: The plank and sit-out target core, arms, and lower-body strength without compromising your spinal health (hear that, crunches?!).

Duck walks and squats to side lunges help loosen up those big joints as you work on exploring and developing a greater range of flexibility while you train your lower body. And sprints and tuck jumps ramp up your heart rate and test overall athleticism.

Knock this routine out as prescribed—changing up sets and reps to fit your schedule—and you’ll have no valid excuse to skip a workout.

Directions

You have two options for performing this routine: After a 5- to 10-minute dynamic warmup, either do all sets and reps for one move before going to the next, or cycle through a set of each move as a circuit, resting as needed.